Write a Character Sketch — a description of a person’s internal as well as external attributes — of someone in your life. Include desires, motivations, quirks, habits.

As an exercise to use the language you are learning, write a character sketch of someone you know or yourself. Include physical attributes, clothing, profession, personality traits, likes and dislikes, family, inner and outer conflicts, hobbies, history. Add in the little touches that make for a well-rounded character. Be specific.

Returning from his daily visit to the library, the farmer walked on the dusty bush road. His mother waited with dinner at the traditional home. The youngest of 5 children, he was the only one who did not move to Seoul, but instead lived in a small, rural town. Graying at the temples, with dark skin, he worried he was not handsome because his eyes had two different shapes.

Honking the horn of his BMW, the salesman impatiently battled rush hour traffic while talking rapidly on his blue tooth in between swigs of coffee.

The father chatted on Skype. Sounds of dishes being washed in the background. The minister felt called to move to a new country with his wife and two sons. Evenings, he practiced English with a language exchange partner.